The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has introduced measures to speed environmental clearance approvals to support smoother business operations across the country. At a workshop in Delhi, Rajat Agarwal, Joint Secretary at the Ministry, reported that the average time to secure an Environmental Clearance has fallen from 120 days to 57 days, a substantial reduction officials attributed to streamlined procedures. The improvements form part of ongoing efforts to enhance the efficiency and predictability of environmental regulation and approvals.

To monitor application progress and evaluate approval timelines, the Ministry now holds quarterly review meetings with State-level Expert Appraisal Committees to identify procedural bottlenecks. Senior officials from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) joined discussions to review implementation issues and technical requirements, with participants from industries, particularly real estate, outlining practical challenges faced during clearance. The engagement aimed to identify administrative adjustments and clarify expectations without compromising statutory compliance. Officials indicated such coordinated reviews are intended to reduce delays at both state and central levels.

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) collaborated with the Ministry and the CPCB to organise the high-level workshop. CREDAI leadership expressed appreciation for the reduction in clearance timelines and reiterated a push for further shortening of processing periods to 45 days while emphasising that requests were limited to procedural acceleration rather than dilution of environmental standards. The organisation underlined that predictable approvals are essential for project planning, financing and timely execution. Stakeholders discussed measures to harmonise documentation and decision points across jurisdictions.

MoEFCC officials outlined clarifications on phase-wise Consent to Establish (CTE) provisions and called for their uniform implementation across states to prevent inconsistent interpretation and delays. Other initiatives highlighted included clearer Terms of Reference for appraisals and the wider use of the PARIVESH portal to support technology-driven submissions and tracking of applications. The Ministry and industry representatives conveyed that streamlined processes, consistent standards and digital tools should together improve ease of doing business and expedite delivery of real estate projects without compromising environmental safeguards.